Summer Suggestions (Preschool)


Summer is a great time to relax and enjoy spending time together. 

There are may ways that parents can build upon learning that has happened during the school year while having fun with your preschool-aged child.  Below are some suggestions.

Read Together

These are some of our favorite authors:

Eric Carle
Tomie dePaola
Dr. Seuss
Lois Ehlert
Mo Willems

These are some of our favorite books:

The Jesus Storybook Bible
Here’s a Little Poem
The Neighborhood Book of Nursery Rhymes
Classic folk and fairytales

Rhyme Together

The Nest rhyme sheet has some of the rhymes that we use at school. Ask your child to show you the hand motions!

Sing Together

The Nest song sheet includes some favorite songs including If I Were a Butterfly, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and others.

Explore Nature

  • Camera activity – Stop on a walk and look for something to take a picture of with your imaginary camera.  Zoom in, find the right angle and pretend to take a picture.
  • Ten sounds – Stop on a walk and sit down.  Close your eyes and raise a finger for every new sound you hear until all your fingers are up.  Can you identify the source of the sounds?
  • Dig at the beach in Hoboken by Maxwell Place or in the dirt anywhere.
  • Plant a seed and watch it grow.
  • Take a hike.

For more information about why children need nature and nature needs children, parents should read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Luov.

Do Some Drama

  • Have cloths and hats available.
  • Transform a big box into something or use chairs, a table and sheets to build a special place.
  • Dramatize a book or story.
  • Make shadows.
  • Visit theater in the parks and stay as long as the children are interested.

Make Art

  • Take a small sketchbook wherever you go and draw.
  • Paint a rock or a clay pot.
  • Cut with scissors for the fun of it – it doesn’t have to lead to a project.
  • Experiment with watercolor pencils.
  • Make a collection of beautiful stuff (recycled or found objects) and create a sculpture.

For more ideas, refer to any of Ed Emberley’s books or Mona Brookes’ Drawing with Children.

Experiment with Words

  • Play with new words you encounter and use them in different ways so that your child understands them in different contexts.
  • Make up some of your own tongue twisters or build on some favorites like she sells sea shells by the seashore.
  • Notice words on traffic signs or street signs.

Learn Math with Everyday Activities

  • Look for patterns wherever you are and point them out.  Start with simple ABAB patterns, like a checkerboard, which can be seen in fabrics, tiles, nature, music notes.
  • Count everything – spoons in the drawer, the steps on the stairs, the blue things in the room, etc.
  • Set the table and determine which items are needed and how many of each before you even start laying them out.
  • Compare objects – which is bigger or smaller, heavier or lighter, wider or thinner, taller or more little, etc.

Write and Draw

  • Have your child retell a favorite story and take his or her dictation on different pages.  Then let your child illustrate it.
  • Begin a joint journal of something you and your child want to learn about – collect items, label them, draw and write about them
  • Write a play and then act it out.  Be sure it has a beginning, middle and an end.